Official claim that ‘all is well between DWP and landlords’ untrue – claim

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A Universal Credit expert has blasted the government’s claims that the benefits system is working smoothly for private landlords.

In answer to a Parliamentary question, junior housing minister Will Quince (main pic) said its online system allowed better interaction with Universal Credit.

“Private landlords are now able to request a Universal Credit tenant’s rent is paid directly to them online, which helps claimants who struggle with managing their money to pay their rent,” said Quince.

But Bill Irvine (pictured) at UC Advice & Advocacy, tells LandlordZONE that plenty of landlords are being treated very poorly by the DWP, unlike their social landlord colleagues who are notified when one of their tenants makes a UC claim and can apply and receive, within minutes, the redirection of the housing costs element.

For private landlords, once they’ve applied, there is no formal acknowledgement, no timescale indication for processing, no dedicated email or telephone number to enquire about what’s happening and, without the explicit consent of their ‘delinquent tenant’, no means of meaningfully speaking to DWP staff, says Irvine.

“During the past year, DWP have used a ‘trust and protect’ policy which effectively means it will accept the word from tenants and even illegal sub-tenants before anything offered by landlords.

“This relaxation of the normal checks allowed delinquent tenants to fraudulently download ASTs with false information about tenancies and rent levels. It also allowed tenants to illegally sub-let, with DWP paying ‘housing costs’ without any contact with DWP.”

He adds: “I’ve had a meeting with the National Audit Office and discovered its staff there were just as frustrated by DWP as we are.”  

Last week, the DWP admitted that spiralling fraud and overpayments in the benefits system now stands at the highest rate ever recorded. It estimates it overpaid £8.3 billion of the £111.4 billion that it spent on benefits in 2020-21, with nearly all of the increase in fraud and error on Universal Credit.

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Government claims that ‘all is well between DWP and private landlords’ are untrue, says expert

admin    Uncategorized     agents

A Universal Credit expert has blasted the government’s claims that the benefits system is working smoothly for private landlords.

In answer to a Parliamentary question, junior housing minister Will Quince (main pic) said its online system allowed better interaction with Universal Credit.

“Private landlords are now able to request a Universal Credit tenant’s rent is paid directly to them online, which helps claimants who struggle with managing their money to pay their rent,” said Quince.

But Bill Irvine (pictured) at UC Advice & Advocacy, tells LandlordZONE that plenty of landlords are being treated very poorly by the DWP, unlike their social landlord colleagues who are notified when one of their tenants makes a UC claim and can apply and receive, within minutes, the redirection of the housing costs element.

For private landlords, once they’ve applied, there is no formal acknowledgement, no timescale indication for processing, no dedicated email or telephone number to enquire about what’s happening and, without the explicit consent of their ‘delinquent tenant’, no means of meaningfully speaking to DWP staff, says Irvine.

“During the past year, DWP have used a ‘trust and protect’ policy which effectively means it will accept the word from tenants and even illegal sub-tenants before anything offered by landlords.

“This relaxation of the normal checks allowed delinquent tenants to fraudulently download ASTs with false information about tenancies and rent levels. It also allowed tenants to illegally sub-let, with DWP paying ‘housing costs’ without any contact with DWP.”

He adds: “I’ve had a meeting with the National Audit Office and discovered its staff there were just as frustrated by DWP as we are.”  

Last week, the DWP admitted that spiralling fraud and overpayments in the benefits system now stands at the highest rate ever recorded. It estimates it overpaid £8.3 billion of the £111.4 billion that it spent on benefits in 2020-21, with nearly all of the increase in fraud and error on Universal Credit.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Government claims that ‘all is well between DWP and private landlords’ are untrue, says expert | LandlordZONE.

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New high-profile taskforce says private landlords not to blame for lack of affordable homes

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A new national taskforce of companies and organisations involved in the housing market has said private landlords should not be blamed for the current lack of affordable homes available for lower-income tenants to rent.

The report highlights what landlords have been saying since successive Conservative administrations have attempted to wash their hands of social housing while at the same time, ironically, reducing private landlords’ tax breaks and increasing regulation of the sector.

Instead, the Nationwide-led coalition 51 big-name organisations says, the UK should return to providing these renters with decent quality, affordable council-run rented accommodation.

The group includes the National Residential Landlord Association as well as key housing charities, the UK’s largest estate agency Connells, Rightmove, big house builders and several large insurance firms including Legal & General.

Research by Ipsos-Mori on the group’s behalf shows that 71% of renters consider the housing market to be ‘in crisis’.

Social housing

“Renting privately is not the best way to house large numbers of lower income earners,” says Affordable Housing Commission Chair, Lord Best. “We need social housing to do that.”

The report blames Margaret Thatcher’s ‘right to buy’ reforms introduced during the 1980s which, the report says, drastically reduced the supply of council houses, forcing many lower owners into the private rental market.

But many landlords are now actively avoiding this kind of tenant, a trend intensified by the complexities and frustrations of dealing with the Universal Credit system.

Sara Bennison (main pic), Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Nationwide Building Society, says: “Our research and cross-industry conversations show that the pandemic has served to exacerbate long-standing issues in the housing market.”

The report also includes the controversial claims by Lord Best that policy incentives could ‘encourage sales to homeowners and social landlords, rather than to investors’.

The Future of Home report also looks at many aspects of the housing market including housing availability, the UK’s ageing housing stock and to make our homes more sustainable.

Read more about renting initiatives backed by Nationwide.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – New high-profile taskforce says private landlords not to blame for lack of affordable homes | LandlordZONE.

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Concerns raised over Amazon rental block app as UK roll-out looms

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Security fears have been raised about Amazon’s Key for Business scheme apartment block access system which is being prepared for launch in the UK.

The online giant’s smart device lets its delivery drivers gain authorised, time-limited building entry to deliver packages at multi-property apartment blocks rather than giving out codes to scores of delivery people.

The smart device integrates an existing access system with the firm’s delivery app and aims to cut down on stolen packages while letting delivery workers make their rounds faster.

Launched in 2018, installation is quick and easy, and the device, installation, and maintenance are all free of charge, however, The Independent has reported concerns that tenants may not know that Amazon drivers have access to their building’s front doors, since Amazon leaves it up to the building to notify them.

UK promotion

Although it’s still only available in the US, access firm Kone’s UK website is promoting the service which would be of significant interest for landlords with leasehold properties and BTR developers.

The company has already installed the device in thousands of US apartment buildings but its roll-out seems to have accelerated in the last year or so, with Amazon deploying salespeople nationwide to offer gift cards as an incentive.

Ashkan Soltani, a privacy researcher, said that any device connected to the internet could be hacked, including the Amazon one, and that bad actors could try to unlock the doors. “You’re essentially introducing a foreign internet-connected device into an otherwise internal network,” he explained.

The company does background checks on delivery people who it said can unlock doors only when they have a package in hand to scan. However, Amazon didn’t respond to questions from The Independent about potential hacking.

Read more about Amazon’s Key for Business service.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Concerns raised over Amazon rental block app as UK roll-out looms | LandlordZONE.

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